Fwd: AMD x2 chips

[Bryan J. Smith]

mailing-list-amd64 at smithstone.co.uk wrote:
> I am considering getting a AMD x2 based machine and was
> wondering if people could confirm that 
> if i installed the 64bit of RHEL the system would be
> recognized as a dual system and not just a single core
> system

>From the standpoint of not only the APIC, but even the HyperTransport
interconnect, you have _two_physical_ processors.  No "fancy
bridging" or anything is required for AMD Athlon64 x2 or Opteron xx5
products, the actual interconnects are to _two_different_, _physical_
ICs.  In fact, because of how AMD's Hammer designs work with
HyperTransport, putting the L2 cache or memory interconnect on the
CPU IC is _optional_.

In the newer Linux/x86-64 kernels, there's is no "separate" MP kernel
at all.


-- 
Bryan J. Smith     Professional, Technical Annoyance
b.j.smith at ieee.org      http://thebs413.blogspot.com
----------------------------------------------------
*** Speed doesn't kill, difference in speed does ***